As VP of American Funeral Financial I had just finished training a group on a new aspect of our service to the funeral industry. As the leading provider of insurance advancement funding, it’s important to be clearly attuned to what our clients and their client families want.
Eraser changing the word Unethical for Ethical
We were to the point in the presentation where I opened it up for questions knowing that whatever was thrown at me, I was fully prepared to handle. Well…that was up until this next question was thrown my way.
A young lady – a funeral director – raised her hand and asked the following: “Well I always check a natural cause of death, cause I know that it will make verification of the policy easier, even when the cause of death is pending. I mean after all I don’t care if you have to wait for your money. That’s what we’re paying you for aren’t we? What do you think of that?”
I was taken back…
Here I was in a meeting with a major client. This funeral directors peers were in the room along with managers and the group manager, and she had the audacity to share openly that she was lying about submitting insurance assignments to our firm for verification and funding.
To be clear…this blog is not about what we do or even the industry that we’re collectively in. Rather, this is about the boldness exhibited in sharing the comfort in choosing to make unethical choices and behavior.
My response…
“Well…I’d call that fraud! Our agreement with your firm is that you’ll tell us the truth so we can serve you and your families to the best of our ability. If you lie, then we have the right to withdraw the funds and that would leave you with a receivable. Is that what you want in the long run?”
You could tell by the responses in the room that many ethical funeral directors were clearly taken back by this young lady’s choice to lie and make unethical choices.
Their response made it a bit more comforting for me – knowing that he choices weren’t systemic choices for the organization.
The larger ethical question…
Who is responsible for unethical choices? There is a graph that I use in my seminars that says the culture of the company creates the systems that employees use and are accountable to work within. I know my client and I know that their culture is that of acting within the highest standards of ethical behavior.
Within that graph known as the Integral Model an individual intention creates an person’s behavior. The young lady that spoke up had the intention of serving her families to the best of her ability by creating the least amount of conflict for them. In life, however, conflict may be necessary to get the best outcome. She thinks she has the right motive, but is willing to sacrifice integrity to get what she thinks is best.
Is she still employed?
As I write this I don’t know. I suspect there were repercussions that I will never see or know – and that is as it should be. What I do believe is that her vocal choices have created a dialogue about ethics in the workplace that is healthy.
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